Where does it rate on your all-time Best Film list?
It's my #11 all-time
share69 in my top 100.
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I saw it. A thing that was cold and dry. It was me. - La Belle Noiseuse
Number Three.
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MovieChat Forums > The Wild Bunch (1969) Discussion > Where does it rate on your all-time Best...
Top 5
You don't have to stand tall, but you have to stand up!
I doubt it will ever drop out of my top ten film list.
"I told you it was off." The Jackal
Numero uno Western................. Once Upon a Time in the West
Numero dos.............................. The Wild Bunch
Numero tres............................. The Treasure of Sierra Madre
Numero cuatro...........................Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
Numero cinco.............................Open Range
Numero seis..............................True Grit
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Numero siete.............................The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Numero ocho.............................The Searchers
Numero nueve...........................Tombstone (Val Kilmer)
Numero Diez.............................Appaloosa
Definitely in my top 5, after the latest rewatch maybe even top 3.
It ain't like it used to be, but it'll do.
My favorites are not necessarily the "best" films ever made, but those which I love the most.
From when I first saw THE WILD BUNCH on its opening day, it became my number-one favorite; and I knew that it was the best film I had ever seen (by age 15). I even sat through it twice in a row for curiosity about whether the film would affect me the same way a second time. (It did.) But almost 11 years later and after multiple viewings of both, I realized that WILD BUNCH had been overtaken by Peckinpah's THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE as my top favorite.
BUNCH is certainly the greater film between the two; but as I grew, I came to recognize greater personal attachment to CABLE HOGUE. Part of that growth was in having come to understand that loving is more important than killing. And I remain grateful that in 1981 I got the chance to tell that to Sam Peckinpah himself ... who was pleased to hear it.
My top five in order of personal importance:
1) THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE
2) THE WILD BUNCH
3) ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
4) THE RAZOR'S EDGE (1946 version)
5) THE BIG COUNTRY
And the rest of my top 10 in alphabetical order:
ISLANDS IN THE STREAM
NORTH BY NORTHWEST
THE SAND PEBBLES
SLEUTH (1972 version)
THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE
Most great films deserve a more appreciative audience than they get.
Top three.
I can't believe some people are being flippant or dismissive of this great movie with remarks like "Top 10,000". Yick.